Quote:
Originally Posted by aron
God doesn't need our $165 Billion; He needs us to "infect" our neighbor with the divine fire.
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While I can agree with your second clause, I don't think you can make the first one so flatly.
Certainly $165 billion with no spiritual underpinnings would be useless. But we do live in a physical world which requires money to operate. I appreciate your stories of simple kindnesses working good. But they actually make the case that $165 billion worth of kindnesses could work a lot of good. It's not either/or. Both can have their place.
Regardless the real point of starting this thread was not to enforce tithing, nor to place the focus on some amount of dollars. It was to point out that (1) God expects us to give (2) the US Church based on income most likely does not give near enough and (3) works that will glorify God and help spread the gospel are not getting done precisely because there is not enough giving. Talk to any missions group. They always want to do more and usually a lack of funds is the reason they can't.
Does money get wasted? Of course. Money gets wasted in any endeavor, secular or religious. But that's not an excuse not to still undertake the endeavor nor to categorically refuse to support similar endeavors. Your kids waste money. Does that mean you stop supporting them? I understand passing on organizations with terrible financial records, but using the existence of some as an excuse to support none seems ignoble.
Another, possibly more crucial, point of this thread was to discuss our general tendency to hesitate to help others because we don't want to participate in some "social gospel." I understand this to some degree. But it can simply be a convenient excuse. The ultimate point of charity is to lead people to Christ. And showing someone you care for them to the point of being willing to sacrifice your time, energy and money on their behalf while expecting nothing in return is a hard-to-beat way to soften their heart toward what you believe. The point is not to fix the world, but if a better world comes because we were loving people in Christ's name, what is the problem with that? Look at some of the worst parts of the world socially and politically--places where war, oppression and injustice run rampant. You don't think the Lord hates that? Don't you think he would like to see things change there, if only to make it easier for the gospel to spread? Certainly change starts with hearts. But money helps. Does your knowledge that the world ends badly lead you to not show practical love for others when the result could be salvations? I don't think the Lord is going to buy that.
In my opinion, we discount the power of this kind of thing much too much. And we use spiritual excuses to excuse ourselves from getting involved when the real reason is we don't want to be bothered. This is another LCM legacy, stronghold really, that needs to be broken down.
Like I said, I'm as bad a violator as anyone. But the Lord has put this on my heart.
Isaiah 1:17 - Learn to do well; seek judgment, relieve the oppressed, defend the fatherless, plead for the widow.
Zechariah 7:9-10 - So says the LORD of hosts, Execute true judgment, and show mercy and compassion every man to his brother.
Proverbs 31:9 - Open your mouth, judge righteously, and plead the cause of the poor and needy.
Jeremiah 22:3 - So says the LORD; Execute judgment and righteousness, and deliver the spoiled out of the hand of the oppressor: and do no wrong, do no violence to the stranger, the fatherless, nor the widow, neither shed innocent blood in this place.
Psalms 82:3 - Defend the poor and fatherless: do justice to the afflicted and needy.
Isaiah 58:6-12 - Is not this the fast that I have chosen? to loose the bands of wickedness, to undo the heavy burdens, and to let the oppressed go free, and that you break every yoke?